Children's Ministry to Deliver 2 Million Christian Books to Filipino Students

A mass distribution of one million books to children in the Philippines as part of a larger campaign to reach two million Filipino children with the Gospel this school year has begun, say organizers at Child Evangelism Fellowship. The goal exceeds last year's success when 1.6 million children heard the Gospel.

"We are grateful for the outreach we have had in the Philippines so far and someday hope to teach in all 92,000 public schools and share the gospel with all of the 34 million Filipino children," said Harry Robinson, vice president of International Ministries for Child Evangelism Fellowship.

The Missouri-based ministry, which bills itself as the largest Christian ministry to children in the world, says its success in reaching 12-year-olds and under in the Philippines is the result of the evangelistic and discipleship ministries which the book distribution buttresses.

The evangelistic ministry includes open air evangelism in communities, as well as the Elementary School Evangelistic Campaign that is welcomed in 190 Filipino public schools. The discipleship ministry takes the form of an Elementary School Values Class and a Character Education Class, which are Bible classes meeting in the schools; and Good News Clubs, Bible clubs that meet in communities.

The books which are translated into the local languages of the Philippines have been enthusiastically received by CEF volunteers and children alike, states CEF.

Volunteer Lilian Ramos said, "The books have truly been a big help for me in teaching children ... They really appreciated the book they received."

Evangelistic Team Leader Oro Hael commented, "Seeing the smile on their faces after they pray to receive Jesus and get a copy of these books always touches my heart. A Grade II pupil from one of the schools we went to, ran to me happily exclaiming, 'Thank you, Sir, now I have a book of Jesus!'"

CEF is distributing Meet the King to pupils in grades I-III and the Gospel of John to students in grades IV-VII as part of its evangelistic ministry. Every Day with God is a devotional given to students participating in the discipleship ministry, who number around 350,000.

The "engaging books" were written by CEF and have been distributed all over the world.